"Fall Back" by Checking Home Carbon Monoxide Detectors

In Iowa an average of 35 deaths and 300 emergency department visits from exposure to CO occur each year

Install carbon monoxide detectors in your home near every sleeping area and change the batteries every six months. Most hardware stores sell these detectors.

Hire a professional annually to make sure your furnace and/or wood-burning stove is functionally sound and vents properly outside the home.

Never run a gasoline or propane heater or a grill (gas or charcoal) inside your home or in an unventilated garage. Any heating system that burns fuel produces carbon monoxide. Use a battery-powered detector where you have fuel burning devices but no electric outlets, such as in tents, cabins, RVs and boats with enclosed cabins.

Never run a car in an enclosed space. If a vehicle is running, you must have a door open to the outside.

Run generators a safe distance from the home. Never run a generator in the home or garage, or right next to windows or doors.